Mark Sanford said Wednesday morning that he had been watching the end of the Super Bowl with his youngest son the night his ex-wife Jenny Sanford accused him of trespassing.

The AP published details Tuesday night of the Feb. 3 incident after obtaining documentation from the former couple’s sealed divorce papers. Mark Sanford is less than three weeks from a May 7 special election for his old Charleston-based U.S. House seat. Read More »

When he came into office in 2009, President Barack Obama saw the Super Bowl as a chance to ease partisan tensions in Washington. For the big game that year between the Steelers and the Cardinals, the president hosted a large Super Bowl party that included 15 senators and congressmen, Republicans and Democrats alike.

At the time, a White House spokesman portrayed the guest list as part of a strategic effort to reach across the aisle.
The president, former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said at the time, believed that time spent with Republicans “is a worthy investment of his time.”

It could be viewed as a simple celebration of the recovery of bankrupt Chrysler. But the political overtones were easy to see as well: “Halftime in America” could be interpreted as a rallying call for a second term for President Barack Obama, who pushed ahead with a bailout of Chrysler and General Motors (read more on GM’s financial results on WSJ.com) despite objections from Republicans, including his likely presidential opponent, Mitt Romney.

The former Republican mayor of Carmel, Calif. wasn’t universally loved. “WTH? Did I just see Clint Eastwood fronting an auto bailout ad???” said Michelle Malkin, the conservative blogger. “I think Clint Eastwood’s credentials as a conservative have been overrated for some time,” added David Limbaugh, the brother of Rush and himself a conservative author.

You can judge for yourself. Here’s the ad, which has been blocked by YouTube after the NFL alleged a copyright infringement.

President Barack Obama Sunday said he is confident that the U.S. will be able to work with the country’s next government, and stopped short of calling for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s immediate departure.

“We can say that the time is now for you to start making a change in that country,” Mr. Obama said in an interview with Fox News host Bill O’Reilly broadcast ahead of the Super Bowl.

The roughly 15 minute interview at the White House also touched on health care, Mr. Obama’s views of the challenges of his office, and whether he cared about the game. On the last issue, he assured Mr. O’Reilly that he “knows football” and intended to watch the game closely, even if he had no favorite. Once the game starts, Mr. Obama said, he didn’t want people disturbing him with “chitting and chatting.”

Mr. O’Reilly started out with questions on Egypt, where President Hosni Mubarak has said he would not run for re-election this fall but has rebuffed opposition demands that he step down immediately. Mr. Obama downplayed concerns that the Muslim Brotherhood could take power and install a government hostile to U.S. interests. Read More »

MANITOWOC, Wis. – To the uninitiated, the autographed Packers jersey presented by Green Bay Mayor James J. Schmitt was standard fare for a visiting commander in chief, especially a fan of the hated Chicago Bears just down the road.

But the message of the jersey, with the “Woodson 21” on the back, was pretty pointed.
“See you at the White House….Go Packers!”

The reference was to a pep talk All-Pro cornerback Charles Woodson gave to the Pack after they defeated the Bears Sunday to win a trip to Super Bowl 45. Mr. Obama had promised he would go to the Super Bowl, if the Bears — his hometown team–went.

It was a reference to the traditional trip of the Super Bowl victor to the White House, but in these political times, it took on more significance. Conservative webmeister Matt Drudge posted the video under a headline declaring that Mr. Woodson had dissed the president. Yahoo Sports called it a “dig” at Mr. Obama.

For his part, the president took it in stride. He looked at the jersey, turned to reporters and declared, “They’re rubbing it in.” Read More »

Bill O’Reilly, the conservative http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/oreilly/index.html host of Fox News, is following in the footsteps of NBC’s Matt Lauer (2009) and CBS’s Katie Couric (2010) – interviewing President Barack Obama ahead of the NFL Super Bowl on Feb. 6.

The Super Bowl interview, confirmed by a Fox News spokeswoman, is somewhat of a tradition, and this year, Fox Sports has Super Bowl broadcast rights. Fox is owned by News Corp. as is The Wall Street Journal.

In September 2008, Mr. Obama, then a senator from Illinoiis and the Democrats’ presidential nominee, sat down for an extensive interview with Mr. O’Reilly on a range of topics from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, to the economy and taxes, to the campaign controversy over the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Read More »

About Washington Wire

Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.